Over 800 Killed By Hurricane Matthew In Haiti

Jane Onyanga-Omara , USA TODAY , WTSP5:41 PM. EDT October 07, 2016

TOPSHOT - An ariel view shows damaged houses are after the passing of Hurricane Matthew, in Sous Roche in Les Cayes, Southwest Haiti, on October 6, 2016.
The storm killed at least 108 people in Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, with the final toll expected to be much higher. / AFP / Nicolas GARCIA (Photo credit should read NICOLAS GARCIA/AFP/Getty Images)(Photo: NICOLAS GARCIA)

Hundreds of people are dead in Haiti as a result of the treacherous Hurricane Matthew, with the death toll reaching as high as 800 people, Reuters reported.

If the death toll is confirmed, Matthew would be the deadliest Atlantic hurricane since Hurricane Stan in 2005, which claimed more than 1,600 lives in Central America and Mexico, according to National Hurricane Center meteorologist Brenden Moses.

Matthew ripped through the tip of Haiti's western peninsula Tuesday with 145 mph winds and torrential rain, according to Reuters. Some 61,500 people were in shelters, officials told the news agency, after Matthew pushed the sea into coastal villages.

Aid agencies warned the death toll was likely to rise.

“What is most urgent now is to provide safe water to prevent disease, as well as food and essential supplies, ´said Jean Claude Fignole, program director for Oxfam in Haiti, in a statement Friday.

He said the international community needed to mobilize to support the Haitian people. “In the longer term, we fear a jump in cholera and malnutrition cases due to crop losses,” he said.

The United Kingdom said it was making an initial contribution of up to $6 million to help Haitians affected by the hurricane.

"The absolute priority right now is to reach those who are injured and provide them with water, sanitation, shelter and protection," said Priti Patel, the U.K.'s international development secretary, in a statement Friday.

Hurricane Matthew, a Category 3 storm, is battering the Florida coast on Friday bringing sustained winds up to 115 mph.